


Under Ground - a prequel

by dustyfanfics



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 01:07:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7293268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustyfanfics/pseuds/dustyfanfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A prequel to the story "Above Ground", depicting the readers journey through the underground. </p><p>Mercy run, reader is not Frisk. Reader has no gender, please let me know if I mess that up anywhere in the fanfic! No nsfw, except for violence during battles. </p><p>To read Above Ground: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5216162/chapters/12026318</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And so you fell

Below the surface of the earth, deeper down than any human had ever been; lived a peculiar kind of people that not many had heard of nor ever seen.

They were not so different from you and I, although their appearance might have caused you to think otherwise. Scales, fur and blazing fire are only an alien look to a human that have yet to learn how human they actually are, just as skin and hair is foreign to them.  
Despite their lives taking place in a land with no sun nor moon, their cities still shone and their ceilings twinkled like stars.  
They were just as curious as humans and easily as eager to learn. They established libraries, schools and laboratories. They developed science in robotics years before humans. They cooked pies with snails, celebrated Christmas by hanging gifts on fellow monsters and a king ruled their land with a strong sense of justice and a kind fussy heart.  
They were burning with desires tenfold stronger than any human would ever be able to feel them. Happiness, fear, joy, courage, stubbornness, grief, jealousy, anxiety... but most importantly of all: love. They felt each emotion individually and intensely. In comparison, human emotions muddle together far too easy. Grief becomes mixed with joy and fear mixed with love, but monsters - an effect of having lost their contact to our world - feel one emotion at a time in its purest form.

All of this, you had yet to see, but you would soon learn of the monsters of the Underground.

. . .

Deep down a hole in a mountain you fell. It was the legendary Mt. Ebott of your hometown. You had ventured out to the mountain for a picnic, and somehow, you now found yourself falling further and further into the darkness of the mountain. You couldn’t recall exactly how or why you even fell but that didn’t matter as in only a moment, you were about to hit the ground.

The impact was painful and broke your arm, and while screaming from the sharp pain, you could barely appreciate the golden flowers surrounding you. One in particular was turning its head this way and that way, until it spoke: “You fell in my flowerbed. Who are you? I’m Flowey!”

You certainly didn’t give Flowey his desired reaction, as all you could do was let out a noise of surprise before you pushed yourself away, all the while you clutched your broken arm closer to yourself (a mistake you see, as it only caused more pain).

The flower was nothing but offended and scoffed, “no need to be dramatic, I only asked for your name. Oh- you’re in pain aren’t you?” it frowned heavily, “I can help! I have these ‘friendliness pellets’ that repel pain!”

“Go away!!” you shouted and kicked at the flower, only for it to disappear into the ground and reappear a few inches to the side.

“You kicked me.” It stated, looking surprised as ever, “Do you not want my help? I swear, it will only take a second and then you won’t feel a thing anymore.”

All around the head of the flower, sparkling white dots appeared and circled around it. “Sit still now!” Flowey chuckled, and as soon as the dots were about to touch you, a wall of flames kept them from getting any closer. It separated you and the talking flower, and when the flames disappeared, so did the flower. Not far from your left sounded a much kinder voice, “oh my goodness!” A large woman approached you, covered in white fur and with a peculiar nose, mouth and eyes… her face in general seemed rather peculiar to you…  
“Are you alright child? What a terrible flower- oh dear, you’re hurt!” she stated as she bent down before you, and now you realized that her face resembled that of a goat.

You must have hit your head, you concluded, moments before you lost consciousness.

Alas what had felt like a weird dream, didn’t end when you woke up again. You were in a soft silken bed, very unlike your own, and the smell of cinnamon and butterscotch filled the room, making you feel cosy for a moment.  
As you recalled the memory of the flower and your fall, you jolted upright in the bed and checked your arm, but there was no sign of a broken arm, not even a scratch. It had to have been a dream, you murmured to yourself and got out of bed, but that didn’t explain the alien room you were in, or the pyjamas you were wearing. Your own clothes were lying on a kids sized table next to you, neatly folded and stitched together, and as you pulled them on you saw the stitches right where the injury on your arm was supposed to have been.

Next to the clothes were a piece of pie, which explained the smell, but you didn’t dare to eat it just yet and picked up the plate to take it with you out of the room. You didn’t recognize the house or even the plants that decorated the hallway. Everything was a strange colour of purple with flowery patterns and fussy carpets. Small figurines of porcelain and wax were practically piled up on every surface, giving it a familiar grandma feeling – although all the figurines were of creatures you had never seen before.

“Ah, you’re awake!” It came from a familiar voice at the end of the hallway, and there stood the goat woman and smiled at you. You couldn’t help the flinch and involuntary step back, but she didn’t move, only frowned.  
“I understand that you’re scared, this is all very confusing. I see you changed your clothes? I hope it’s okay that I washed them, the fall had dirtied them up quite a bit.”

You didn’t say anything and looked down at yourself, as if to check – yes, they were indeed your clothes – and looked up again.  
“The pie is a cinnamon and butterscotch pie!” she pointed at the plate in your hand, “you can eat it in the living room with me? I bet you have a lot of questions.”  
Reluctantly you stepped ahead, and she very kindly stepped back to keep a distance and never approached you. Not even once. You went over to the table, and with a gentle nod from her; you took a seat and put down the pie.  
What if it’s poisoned? You asked yourself. But then again, I’m already caught in a weird dreamland; maybe the poison will wake me up in my own bed?

With that reasoning, you ate a piece of the pie and found it to be both delicious and calming. The goat lady had taken a seat in a large chair by the fire, and watched you eat with a smile full of anticipation. When there were only a few bites left, she spoke, “My name is Toriel. I watch over the ruins and take a walk every day to check if any humans have fallen down the mountain. You’re the first grown human I’ve seen here… the others were children.”

You kept munching and looked up from your pie with a frown on your face. It was a weird dream yes, nothing but a weird dream that felt awfully real.

“How is your arm?” Toriel asked, trying desperately to make you talk.

You swallowed the last bite of the pie and looked at your arm again before locking eyes with her, “fine.”

She practically beamed at you, “good! I was glad to see that it healed so easily, considering that it was a broken bone. Did you like the pie?” You considered asking her how she had gotten you into the pyjamas, but you’d rather not know and instead replied, “yes. Thank you.”  
“Good! If you want to, I can show you around the ruins? You can also stay and heal if you’d like, the room down the hall is yours. Do you like snails?”  
That was a lot of questions all at once and you felt as if your voice hadn’t been used for years when you finally spoke, “I’ve… only tried snails once… with garlic butter?” You offered and continued, “And… what is the ruins?”

“I’ll prepare them in garlic butter then! Dinner is going to be delicious!” Toriel stood up from her chair and put away her book, “the ruins is this entire area. It used to be a part of a bigger city, but that's many years ago and now I’ve taken it upon myself to keep his area in good condition. I think it would be good if you see it, yes? As far as I know, it is quite different from a human city.”

With a weak nod you got up and Toriel was already down the hallway, fetching a coat for you. When she handed it to you, you flinched again and she frowned, “I’m sorry dear. I mean you no harm.” Reluctantly you took the coat and swung it over your shoulders.

The ruins were, as Toriel had said, quite different from a human city. It was specked with puzzles and makeshift booby-traps, meant to keep outsiders away. Toriel explained that most of them were created eons ago, so they were either broken or unreliable, but you still had to be careful of every single one of them. You couldn’t remember where they all were, and the ruins were too big to show all of it in just a few hours, but Toriel did her best to teach you a few tricks to recognize the signs of a puzzle, and how to avoid them.  
She wasn’t the only creature in the underground, and several little beings followed you around, keeping a respectful distance to Toriel but not so much to you. If you fell behind or stopped to look, a ‘Froggit’ or ‘Whimsun’ species, would sometimes try to approach you. One of them tried to hit you, but it barely did anything and it felt more like a tiny pat on your foot, and another creature merely stood in front of you and stared. You tried to wave at it, but it burst into tears and flew away.  
“They’re called ‘monsters’” Toriel explained, “named by humans many centuries ago, just like we named you. I’m a monster as well, but a different species from the Froggits and Whimsuns.”

For the remainder of the trip, your had a Froggit latched to your ankle, and a Whimsun clutching your hair to help it sit securely on your shoulder. They let go when you approached Toriel’s house again, and you gave them a small wave before stepping inside and taking off your shoes. Toriel reached for your coat, half-expecting you to flinch, but as you didn't and stood perfectly still she tilted her head, “Child? Are you alright?”

“This is not a dream, is it? This is actually real?”

Toriel nodded patiently, “yes. Very real indeed.”

Swallowing you grabbed the edge of your shirt, feeling rather claustrophobic in your own skin, “I-… I don’t know how to react to all of this.” You admitted, feeling the pressure of tears coming on and you squeezed your eyes together, “I never thought… I was never… taught to believe in monsters.”

Toriel smiled and slowly let her hand approach you, and as you didn’t move away, she placed it on your shoulder. The weight of her hand was massive, and so was the size of her paw, but it wasn’t frightening, “I know. It is rather interesting, I have to say, to have a young adult in my house. Children easily adapt to the idea of monsters, but not so much adults.”

Finally you could smile a little and nodded, “Very… where are the other human children?” you asked, and Toriel’s face fell into a deep frown. She let her paw fall from your shoulder, and seemed to contemplate an answer before opening her mouth, “I’ll tell you sometime later. For now, I’ll prepare dinner. Do you want to assist me?”

“Yes please,” you agreed. Throughout the evening, you were much like a duckling following a mother duck, always behind Toriel and never more than two steps away from her.  
The snail dish wasn’t as terrible as you had thought it would be. You only prepared the garlic butter, as you couldn’t quite handle killing off the squishy fellas, but eating them was fine. Not good, but fine.  
Toriel was good at keeping a conversation going. She asked you about your likes and dislikes, hobbies and interest and your favourite dishes. In return you grew more comfortable around her, and learned that she wanted to be a schoolteacher, she liked to read and write, was a decent singer and really good at knock knock jokes.

You went to bed with a stomach full of snails and biscuits, feeling content. It hadn’t quite sunken in that you were trapped in a mountain, and even thinking about it still felt unreal and out of your grasp. You still didn’t know how you even got here in the first place.

The next day you helped Toriel out in her garden. It was quite meditative to simply nurture and care for the plants, so you were surprised to say the least when a Vegatoid jumped up and shouted, “eat your greens!” with a large smile on its face. Toriel merely chuckled as the carrot-resembling monster watched you eat a vegetable from start to finish until it would leave you alone.

The third day she showed you the ruins again and took you on a trip to the furthest district of the broken town. It was quite like a ghost town with empty libraries and restaurants and broken houses, but Toriel pointed out the importance of this place as smaller monsters such as Spiders had occupied the crevices of the buildings.

On the forth day you asked to take a walk alone, and she gave you her phone number. She called you quite frequently, letting you know that she would be there in a second if you needed help, and you chuckled, replying that you were quite fine.

On the fifth day, you felt homesick for the first time, and it hit hard. The realization of being trapped in the mountain finally struck you, and you sat in Toriel’s garden, feeling quite alone. A Froggit had fallen asleep in your lap after you complimented its ability to jump. Toriel came out with a trey with two mugs of tea and offered one to you before sitting down next to you.  
Staring into your tea, you recalled how your own mother would bring you tea whenever you felt sad or lonely. It had been a long time since she had done that after you moved out, but it didn’t stop her from calling and reminding you to take care of yourself and drink tea every now and then.  
You didn’t notice the tears that fell from your face until Toriel put her paw on your shoulder, “Child?” she inquired and you sniffed, drying your eyes with the back of your sleeve.

“I’m alright…” you lied and bit your lip, “just… a little homesick…”

Toriel squeezed your shoulder, her expression turning grave, “you miss the human world?”  
“Yes,” you replied, still looking into your tea, “I miss my parents… my siblings, my friends… I didn’t realize until now just how much I missed them. I’ve had so much fun here, that I forgot for a little while…”

“Maybe that is a good thing?” Toriel eased her grip and let go, “you’re getting used to being here.”

“I suppose so…” you frowned and finally looked at her, but she looked away and into the garden, seeming distant, “Toriel… is there a way to climb back up the hole?”

“I’m afraid not.” Her reply was defensive; “there is a barrier that keeps us down here.”

“A barrier?” your heart stopped and with a sigh her shoulders fell and she furrowed her brows, “we were trapped by your ancestors many years ago, and I’m afraid that the barrier is impossible to break, at least by you alone. It is best that you forget about it, and make best of what you have.”

“…Is that what you did?”

Toriel turned to you and nodded, looking sorrowful “Yes.”

You didn’t ask again. That night, you couldn’t sleep and your door was kept open just enough to let a rim of light through. It was quiet and serene but your own destructive thoughts kept you awake. You wanted to go home so badly, but you were trapped here, literally trapped. At first you thought that Toriel merely let you stay until you were feeling all right and ready to go home, but that was not it at all. It explained why she had never brought up the subject.

Your train of thoughts was interrupted when a shadow passed your door, and as you realized it was Toriel, you got out of your bed to peek out in the hallway. She was never up during the night, not even for a glass of water, but this night she was headed for the basement, a place she had specifically told you to never go near and thus you never had.  
But tonight, you felt a fire of defiance growing inside of you. It was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, at least that was your reasoning for following her. Down the stairs you went as quietly as possible, making sure nothing creaked or croaked. At the end of the stairs, Toriel stood quiet for a moment, taking in a deep breath and on she went. You followed behind her, staying far enough back so she couldn’t see or hear you. The basement was nothing but a long hallway build in stone and the only light was the flame floating on top of Toriel’s upturned palm. Once in a while she would stop to peek over her shoulder and you would press yourself flat against the wall. Your heart was thundering away, but she merely stared for a few seconds before continuing.  
Your legs carried you all the way to the end of the hallway where Toriel finally stopped in front of a large door. Frost and ice was decorating the edges of the wooden door in intricate patterns, and even with her large flame in hand, the temperature had lowered significantly and you felt yourself shaking from the cold.

“I know you followed me child. I do not blame you… I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it… or perhaps, hoping it.”

Her voice caused you to jump and you took the decision to step forward into the light, “I’m sorry…”

She turned around, looking tired and worn, but still she smiled and shook her head, “don’t be.”

There was a momentary silence before you spoke, “what’s behind that door?”

Looking over her shoulder she gave it a glance, “it’s the door to the rest of the Underground. Behind it are the remnants of the last cities surrounding the kingdom, and in that kingdom is the house of our king. His name is Asgore, and he holds the key to yours and our freedom.”

You didn’t dare interrupt her and thus she continued, “if you wish to go home, he is whom you must see, but…” she let out a heavy sigh, “…he will want to kill you.”  
Upon seeing your dread she went on, “you cannot let Asgore get a hold of you. The monsters behind this door are not nearly as friendly as the ones in the ruins. They’re scared and most have been taught to fear humans, but I beg of you; do not fight them. They do not know any better.”

“Is… is there anything I can do to prepare myself?” you asked, not sure what else to ask.

She shook her head, “I’m afraid that I have prepared you as well as I can. You once asked me where the other children were, yes? They all passed this door. I forcefully tried to keep them back by fighting them, and I realize now that I cannot promote a life of patience and understanding by being violent. You would not be happy in the ruins, if you did not fight for every chance you had to get home and as much as I enjoy your company, I can’t keep you here. You would feel trapped in the end just as much as we do.”

You frowned as you watched Toriel grow full of sorrow, and biting your lip you gently asked; “what happened to the children?”

“They… they were killed… by Asgore. Please, child... don’t die.” Tears were falling from her eyes, perfectly shaped droplets hitting the ground and you stepped forward to hold her face, unable to hold back a sob as your own eyes stung with tears.  
Her arms wrapped around your chest and pulled you close, “stay safe, yes?” she murmured before holding you out at arms length, “and… please don’t call me when you step through this door. It will hurt too much. I hope you understand.”

It hurt more than you thought it would to hear those words, but out of respect you nodded, “I understand.”

She gave you a worn smile before hugging you one last time “Get home safe.”

She left you her coat and unlocked the door with an old rusty key, and with a loud and heavy creak, she pulled it back. A gust of wind and snow chilled you down to the bones. You looked one last time at Toriel before stepping through the door and kept looking forward as she closed and locked it behind you, forever keeping you out. Your tears would not stop falling.


	2. And on you ventured

Like most things underneath the mountain, the scenery baffled you. It was a forest, but the trees were so tall you could barely make out when or if they ever stopped growing, and most of them were bare and naked with their leaves stripped from their black branches. They were equally spaced out but right through the middle of the forest, was a perfectly laid out pathway.

Remembering Toriel’s advice, you chose to walk away from the path and through the thick beams of the trees instead. It was quiet like in the ruins, but instead of having the silence filled with the occasional croaking of Froggits and fluttering of Whimsun’s, it was the howl of the wind that made itself known here. It sent chills down your spine, and instinctively you pulled Toriel’s coat closer for protection. You felt utterly naked and unprepared.

You wanted to follow her advice of never harming a monster, as you knew she had the best intentions, but still… you saw a few rocks in the snow and picked them up and stuffed them deep into your pockets.

After having walked for what felt like an hour, the forest began to thin out and you could see an end to the repetitive landscape. Your toes and fingers were numb, your nose and the tips of your ears were ice cold and your legs were aching, but all of that you forgot when you spotted a small sentry station with a dark figure resting inside of it. You couldn’t quite make out what it was, but whatever it could be, it hadn’t seen you.

Fumbling for a rock you grasped it in your fist, but on a whim you changed your mind and bend down to form a snowball.

You rushed in front of the sentry station and hit the monster right on the… head?... at least you assumed the big white ball was the head.

The figure instantly jolted up, and instinctively you gasped and grabbed a rock from your pocket. You stepped back with a wince as the monster revealed it to be a small skeleton with large gaping holes as eyes and two small shining dots darting left and right, full of confusion.

“Hey!” you shouted, and caught their attention. He looked horrified at you, then at your hand and back at your face.

“…who-” he was about to speak, a deep rumbling voice, but you interrupted him as his mere appearance rubbed you the wrong way, “I-I need to find a place to stay! Show me a town nearby!”

The skeleton eyed you for a second, his confusion fading away until he merely grinned, “new here, huh?” he wiped something off his brow and jumped off his chair, “no need to throw sticks and stones, words are plenty,” he gestured to the rock in your hand but you denied to lower it. Seeing as you didn’t plan on acting friendly any time soon, he huffed, “’aight. Names Sans, Sans the skeleton. You want to get into town? Let me _snow_ you the way,” he winked at you before turning on his heel and walking ahead. You watched him walk a few steps before he stopped and looked over his shoulder, “Ya’ coming? Or are you frozen solid?” 

You quickly put away the stone and ran up next to him, keeping silent as you kept a steady pace behind him.

Another huff escaped past his teeth as he eyed you once more, “I swear I don’t bite,” he commented on the distance you kept and your brows furrowed angrily at him, only causing him to chuckle.

Silence filled the air and a few minutes passed before he spoke again, “I didn’t see you arrive. It’s my job to keep an eye on anyone who passes through the area, but you slipped right by. Where did you come from?” 

“The ruins,” you reply was short and court. As he led you over a bridge between two cliffs with a gaping hole beneath you, the wind sent a chill through your clothes, forcing you to hug the cloak closer.

“Ruins, huh? Say, you’re a human, right? Not many humans come down here.”

“It’s not exactly a holiday destination.”

He allowed himself to laugh, “You might take that back once you see Snowdin. A fair warning though, not many of us are fond of your kind.” 

You nodded, biting your lip as you asked, “are you?”

“Me? I’m indifferent.” Sans grinned at you over his shoulder, “but my brother tho’, he is a human _fanatic_. His job is to find and kill your kind.”

You stopped abruptly and swallowed. This was a trap wasn’t it? You felt bile rise up in your throat as Sans turned and looked at you with such glee, humoured beyond belief, “don’t worry, he couldn’t hurt a fly even if he tried to. In fact, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to recognize you as a human, unless I told him. Same goes for the rest of the town.”

As much as those words were meant to comfort you, you kept your stance, “…why are you telling me this? And why do you know what I am, if supposedly no one else does?”

His smile faltered a little as he studied your face, “That’s an excellent question. I’ll save the answer for later.” Again he turned to start walking and you called out, “how do I know I can trust you?” but he didn’t stop as he shrugged, “you don’t.”

Stuck with no other option but to follow him, you rushed ahead, this time walking behind him to avoid staring at his face whenever he talked.

He lead you through a winter landscape with no sun, yet somehow the ground was lit by a natural light, confusing your sense of time and place. Passing several monsters in the likeness of birds, dogs, cows and deers, most ignored you as Sans waved them off or gave them a quick nod or wink, and it was as he had said – no one realized that you were a human, and simply let you be.

At several passes, he advised you to follow his steps to a T as to not trigger the puzzles and traps in the ground, many, he explained, that had been laid out by his brother.

It was at the first sign of the village that Sans spoke again, gesturing dramatically to the wooden sign with Christmas lights spelling ‘Welcome to Snowdin’, “Here we are. I have taken you to the nearest town. The inn over there should be able to provide you with a place to stay.”

Taking in the sight of the small town, it reminded you much of a Christmas market with its wooden houses, thick layers of snow and flickering Christmas lights. You even recognized a Christmas tree in the middle of the town square, where presents were currently being packed underneath it. Turning to the skeleton you bowed your head slightly, “thank you.”

With a wink he trotted off again, giving you a lazy wave as he left the same way you came. You took his advice and immediately went for the inn, sighing as the warmth swam over you. A much softer and kinder looking monster, one that resembled a bunny, was standing at the checkin desk and attending her guests. Any shyness or nerves you were harbouring for social awkwardness were pushed away, as the prospect of a bed led you on, and really you had nothing to loose other than your dignity. “Hello-“ you caught her attention and she beamed at you, “Hello there, dearie! How may I help you?”  
  
“I’d like a room please, just a single bed.”  
  
“Of course! How many nights?”  
  
“I’m not sure yet, is that okay?”  
  
“Certainly, we have a room for day-to-day stays, so the first night will be 80G up front!”

A pit formed in your stomach as dread hollowed it. You instinctively patted your pants down and searched in Toriel’s cloak, panicking as you looked for any sign of money, but as your breathe began to hitch in your throat and your eyes swam for mercy, the monster cleared her voice, “is there a problem?”  
  
“I-I don’t have any money…” you piped up, your throat closing in on itself and your cursed yourself for feeling tears welling up. You were tired, cold, hungry and lost, you did not need this extra pile of problems slapped on your shoulders.

She frowned, feeling your distress, “I’m sorry, I can’t give you a room then.”

“Please, maybe I can pay it off somehow? I’m not trying to trick you, I just really need a place to stay, just for the night-"

“I can’t do that. It’s a small business and other guests who can pay will occupy the room soon enough. I have to insist that you leave.”

A monster standing behind you, pushed you out of the way before you could plead any longer, “you’re in the way,” they grunted, forcing you to step aside. Mumbling a hasty apology, you made your way outside and were immediately bitten by the cold. Tears had already built up but you kept your head down and dried them with the back of your sleeve.

As the warmth from the inn had thawed the snow on your clothes, your shoes were now wet and soggy, and the cold instantly froze them, sending jolts of pain through your feet as you walked through town. Toriel’s cloak was drawn far up over your head, and you looked left and right, trying to find a place to seek temporary refugee. All the houses were occupied with lovely families and warm lights, and one particular house had a garage you tried to sneak into, but the owner, a bear, shouted at you to find out what you were doing. You didn’t want the confrontation or conversation and merely ran away. You tried to sit down behind the back of a house underneath their window, but the cold was simply too much and you could feel it slowly eating away at you, and your forced yourself to get up. Your clothes simply weren’t made for this kind of weather.

It was deeper into town that you found a bar called “Grillby’s”. The bell above the door rang clearly as you entered, but the level of noise was so high that no one paid any attention to you. A sigh left your lips by the welcoming warmth, and finding a corner by the far end of the bar, you hid yourself away and sat down on the furthest seat. You didn’t dare to look around, and merely shrouded yourself even more with the cloak. Why the hell did you leave Toriel, you asked yourself? This was a terrible idea. She claimed to have prepared you as best as she could, but perhaps she hadn’t even been aware of how this place looked when she allowed you to leave? She knew it had to be cold judging by the frost around the door, but you’d wished she’d warn you about money, shelter and exactly just _how_ cold it was. Worst was that you couldn’t even call her for help.

Your thoughts were interrupted when a hot drink was placed before you and you looked up, finding yourself staring straight into the eyes of a man made of fire. You didn’t flinch, but did stare between him and the mug a few times before he clarified, “for the cold…”

“Oh- oh no, I can’t pay for this, I don’t have any money!” you quickly sputtered, but he shook his head, “Drink. You need it.” 

Biting you lower lip, you swore your eyes began to sting again and you nodded, “Thank you, sir…” A slight smile appeared on his lips, he gave your shoulder a squeeze and let you be. The drink was hot thick chocolate, and gratefully you scooped the mug into your hands and let yourself be warmed by the ceramic surface. His small act of kindness had been enough to well up your emotions again, and silent tears streaked your cheeks as you drank. 

A shuffle could be heard in front of you and someone slithered into the seat opposite you, “didn’t get a room, huh?”

It was Sans who had joined you. Pulling the cloak even further down to hide your face, you shook your head, “I don’t have any money.”

“hm, shucks,” Sans stated, and let the silence fill the air, observing what little of your face he could see. He had bought a burger with fries along with an entire bottle of ketchup, and after some consideration he slid the fries over to you, “wanna share?”

You had finished half of your mug and looked up at him, shaking your head, “you don’t have to do this.” You were hungry, yes, but you hated being pitied.

“I know, but really its just fries. They’re like 1G, so eat up.”

A meek chuckle escaped you, “Thank you,” and you reached over for a few of them, sighing as they hit your stomach, “…do you know of a way I can get money around here?”

Leaning back he took a gulp of the ketchup bottle, and you decided not to ask about it, and he shrugged, “I’m pretty sure the library could need some help, maybe even Grillby here do. Many are willing to offer payment for small services like babysitting, cleaning their homes or taking care of their gardens.” 

You nodded, gaining a little piece of hope as you drank the last of your hot chocolate, “I’ll try and ask around then.”

“Do you have a place to stay for the night?” You shook your head. “Thought not. My brother and I have a couch, you can crash there for night and look for a job tomorrow, sound good?”

As you straightened up to look directly at him the hood of the cloak fell down, revealing your bloodshot eyes and dishevelled look, “yes- but… why are you being this kind to me? I haven’t done anything to deserve it.” 

Sans was taken aback for a moment before he smiled slightly softer than normal, “on the contrary you have. Besides, it’s just for one night, it’s not like you’re moving in.”

“…I don’t know what to say.” 

He shrugged, “do you like spaghetti for breakfast?” 

A surprised smile found its way, “Spaghetti? I suppose so?” 

“Perfect. C’mon, finish up the fries and we’re off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter is finally up! I'm trying to alternate between Above Ground and Underground c: 
> 
> I hope you like it!


	3. And in you went

“Welcome to our humble abode” 

Sans and Papyrus’ home was definitely humble. The furniture was simple, dark, practical and almost non-existing. There was only one piece of furniture you would describe as being less than practical and that was the 6 foot tall sink in the kitchen. You did not know what purpose that could possible serve. The couch looked like it could eat you alive if you sat on it, soft and malleable as a couch should be. The small table by the door had a few postcards, letters and tokens on it, including a rock covered in sprinkles. The second floor could be seen from the living room and it had three doors. The first one lead to Papyrus’s room, the second one to Sans’s room  and the third to the bathroom. The wallpaper all around the house was old fashioned, orange tinted and peeling off at the top. It looked like a true bachelor home only meant for blokes. 

“You can hang your jacket over there” Sans pointed to the coat hangers behind the door and you gently shrugged the cold jacket off. Just as you left it on the hanger you let your hands linger on the fabric. You briefly wondered how Toriel was doing. 

“So…” Sans hummed.

“It’s a nice home you have,” you quickly responded and turned towards him, “very simple. I like it.” 

The short skeleton chuckled, “glad to hear it. The couch is yours for the night.” 

“Thank you. Really.”

He shrugged, “It’s no problem. Fair warning though, Papyrus will be home any moment now.” 

You nodded and reminded yourself to act as little as human as you possible could, whatever that meant. As you stood in the middle of the living room for a few minutes you proceeded to swing back and forth on your feet before scanning the room for anything that could distract you. Sans watched you for a while before going to the kitchen, “I’m making hot cocoa. You want some?”   
  
“yes please” you promptly replied and followed him. He gestured you over to the chair by the small dining table and so you sat and watched him work. The sink ,you discovered, seemed to be no problem whatsoever as he delicately waved his hand around until it had a faint blue glow to it. You assumed it was his magic that turned the handle of the sink and sent a kettle floating up to catch the water. 

“How come your sink is so tall?” you asked and Sans snorted. 

“I didn’t expect your first question to be that. Pap wanted it that tall. It had to measure to his greatness.” 

“Ah... “ you mulled it over a bit and looked back at him, “I stayed with a lady before coming here. She showed me a bit of her magic… is - what you’re doing right now… is that magic as well?” The kettle floated down and placed itself on the heater.

“Indeed. All monsters have it. To some degree or another.” His eyes studied you. You knew they were. You knew he found you puzzling and after a moment of silence you stared back and prompted him “you can ask me anything if you’re curious.”

He smiled, “Is that so? I’ll remember that for later.” Turning around he found a stool to stand on and reached up to the counter to finish brewing together the hot cocoa in a teapot. He poured it into two separate cups, handed one of them to you and you mumbled a quiet thank you. 

“Who were you staying with?” sans asked and you allowed yourself to smile, “I thought you would ask later?” 

“Later is now.” He grinned. 

You huffed, “her name was- is Toriel. She found me and took me in when I fell down into the mountain. I had broken my arm and she mended it with her magic,” you smiled, “she was really nice…” your voice grew quiet. Why did you leave again? You had it pretty good back there didn’t you? And now you were imposing on a complete stranger, drinking his hot beverages and waiting for the moment his human fanatic brother would return and possibly kill you. 

Because you had to go back, you reminded yourself. You had a life outside of the mountain and if you stayed here, the Underground would slowly swallow you whole and chip away what little hope you have left like it did to Toriel. She was content and living but she was missing something, something that only being trapped from the world could do to you. 

“Kid?” Sans inquired, waving a hand in front of you. 

“Do… do you know the way to a man named Asgore?” 

As the words left your mouth the door was practically kicked in and a booming voice shrieked “I AM HOME, OH BROTHER MINE!”   
You froze with your burning cocoa in hand and barely dared to look back at who entered. Sans waved “Ey’ bro”, looking amused as ever. The door slammed behind you and long strides ventured into the kitchen, “You will not BELIEVE what a day I have had! I set up another puzzle outside the very edges of Snowdin, I had a wonderful training sessiong with Undyne - is that cocoa? Can I have some? Thank you brother! As I was saying I was having a wonderful training session with Undyne, I can dodge all of her spears now and who is this?” The tall lanky skeleton had stopped talking and pointed his gloved finger straight at your sweating face.

“They’re staying here for the night. Possibly a bit longer.” Sans explained and Papyrus tilted his head at you, squinting his eyes.

“I see! I see…” he got closer, breaking any personal bubble you might have had before he entered the room. “H-hello…” you murmured and that was enough for him to smile and grab your hand, “Hello, hi! I’m terribly sorry but you remind me of something? Someone? Ooooh can I guess? I can’t seem to recall having seen your face around here? Are you possible new or someone’s kid? Oh children grow up so fast these days!” A tear formed at the corner of his eyes and you stared baffled at him, barely able to keep up with all of his questions nor the vigorous shaking of your hand. 

“Wait, no, don’t say anything! You’re Aunt Molly’s niece? Well she’s not really my aunt, she’s your aunt, but you understand me right? No wait, that’s can’t be it, Aunt Molly’s whole family is fussy… hmmm…. two arms, two legs… no significant amount of hair… this particular colour of… skin?…. no scales? No fur? A head full of hair and two eyeS- SANS!”

“Whoops.” 

The sink had turned on again and a stream of water was falling in a beautiful curved angle, drenching Papyrus to the bone. Literally. You clasped a hand to your mouth as Papyrus was shouting about his battle armour getting wet and Sans gave a half-assed apology about his power being out of tune lately. Papyrus left with stomping feet all the way to the bathroom “I shall return new guest!” he shouted before closing the door, “and then I will know who you are!” 

Your hand was still covering your mouth. You didn’t know if you were supposed to laugh, cry or scream from all the adrenalin running through your body. Were you moments from being killed just then?

“Thought you might need a bit more time to uh, ‘adjust’,” Sans broke the silence. 

“...I owe you.” 

He shook his head, “you really don’t. So, you asked me about someone?” 

“I… uh, I think I’m a bit too worked up right now for that conversation.”

“Fearing my brother will come down any moment and hear it?”   
  
“Something like that.”   


“Fair enough. I’ll ask you tomorrow. If you go to sleep I promise he won’t bother you. He’s a kind monster.” 

You bit the inside of your lip, “Alright… I’ll do that or try to at least” you huffed, “thank you.” 

“Don’t mention it. I’ll bring you a change of clothes.”

It was as Sans said. The moments the lights were off in the livingroom, Papyrus understood that you were sleeping and that you shouldn’t be disturbed. Ironically, but not surprising, you were wide awake and stared straight into the dark ceiling for several hours. You had to keep reminding yourself that you left the comfort of Toriel’s home for a reason. She knew just as much as you that you had to go home and seeing how much it hurt her to let you go you just had to continue and you couldn’t stop. For her sake you had to outlive the dream of the escape she couldn’t have. You had no choice. You didn’t want to have a choice, only a goal. That’s all you could muster right about now. 

WIth that final thought you fell asleep but as soon as you closed your eyes, you felt a presence inches from your face. Opening your eyes again it was bright morning and a white skeletal long face was staring straight at you, “I know what you are.” Papyrus said excitedly and you screamed. You pushed his face and body away and he screamed back, trying to stop the movement of your arms and legs. A very confused Sans rushed out of his door and stopped by the foot of the stairs to watch the ridiculous wrestling, “what the- what’s happening!?” 

“I STARTLED THE HUMAN. I AM SORRY HUMAN I DIDN’T MEANT TO SCARE YOU.” 

You had successfully hidden yourself under the blanket and peeked out from the edge of it up at the tall skeleton, laying completely still. Sans was just as quiet, his eyes darting between you and his brother.

“You  _ are _ a human right? Your description fits. I’m quite sure at least… it’s quite an exciting thing that you are here! Great timing actually! Undyne will be so pleased!” 

You could barely sit up as Papyrus still towered over you.

“Pap that’s uh-”

“I can take you through some of my puzzles! I bet you’re going to love them! They’re on the way to waterfalls! That’s where Undyne lives!”    
  
“Paps. I think you’re suffocating the human.”   
  
“OH” Papyrus promptly jumped off the couch and you sat up with the blanket wrapped tightly around you. You wanted to say something but frankly didn’t know what, so you merely stammered a “I- uh…”

“You look confused? I should explain myself! My brother interrupted our first meeting yesterday so I shall introduce myself properly today! I am The Great Papyrus! I am a royal guard - or about to become one at least - and it is my job to capture and kill humans, and I The Great Papyrus, have captured YOU!” He pointed a gloved finger at you. This was ridiculous. A tall skeleton wearing what looked like a halloween costume with a booming voice as enthusiastic as the biggest child on the playground, was actually threatening to kill you. “No… no no no no-” You were going to die by the hand of a funky dressed monster.    
  
You shook your head, “Please don’t- please don’t!” tears started to trickle down your cheeks and Papyrus’s arm began to shake. Sans stood awkwardly by and watched, his eyes wide and pupils small. “Uhm bro-”   
  
“I MADE IT CRY, SANS,” Papyrus shouted with newfound tears in his eyes. 

“You sure did bro. Pap uhm- I think the human needs some rest before trying out your puzzles. Maybe you could uh, make them your famous spaghetti? I bet that would cheer them up.” 

“My spaghetti? Why yes! Yes, what a great idea! I shall do that right away!” Very gently Papyrus reached his hand out and over your head and let it hover for a while before patting the top of your hair, “I shall make you the best meal you have ever had in your life, so don’t cry little one!” 

You felt your hair where he had touched you but before you could speak, Sans took your hand, “C’mon. Put on your coat, we’ll go for a little walk.”

Still in Sans’s pyjamas, the wind was a little chilly but welcoming. You dried your eyes and followed Sans as he took you to a nearby forest where the snow lit up the ground around you. “Okay so uh… I didn’t know he was going to wake you up like that.” 

“Neither did I,” you hiccoughed an awkward laugh, “Oh god… he’s going to kill me…” you grimaced and wiped your cheeks again.  
  
“Oh god no. I promise you, he will not lay a hand on you. He may say kill, but that’s only because it’s in the job description. Just… try and play along and he’ll eventually have to break down his Royal Guard role.” 

“That sounds promising” you scoffed and stopped in your tracks, leaning your back against a tree. “I don’t know if I can do that… or even have time for it. I’m sorry…”   
  
“Sorry about what?” Sans turned to look at you.  
  
“I don’t know… I’ve interrupted your life quite heavily already and you’ve helped me so much, even though the first thing I did was threaten you”   


“With a snowball. Nothing terrible.” he chuckled.

You peeked up at him, “Sans… I’m super grateful but I have to continue on. I… I’m scared of staying still for too long.” 

You heard him swallowed, “right… nothing good ever came from sleeping on a couch in the house of man technically trained to kill you right?” he huffed, “you mentioned someone yesterday?”   
  
You chuckled, finding the extreme statement somewhat amusing, “I have to see Asgore. That’s what Toriel said. He is the way out for both me and you…. At least that is what she said. But he will also want to kill me.” you chuckled, “I haven’t even met the guy…” 

“King Asgore huh. I was afraid you were going to say that. Listen, I do know a relatively safe way but before you go, let me educate you a bit about the Underground hm? It’ll help you in the long run.” 

You blinked at him “I’d appreciate that, but - I’m sorry if this comes off sounding rude - why are you so determined to help me?”

Sans grinned and beckoned you to walk back to the house “Call it ‘intuition’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? An update?!   
> Oh heck yeah it's an update. And if you read the first two chapters of Above Ground, I've updated them as well. Actually I've completely re-written them and I'm rewriting the whole thing and I'm halfway through chapter three awwwWWWW YEEEAAAAHHHHH it's going to take some time but I am determined haha


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